The Author's Story
by TCD
Summary: Bella has written a book and sent it to many publishers hoping it gets published. She doesn't get any replies until she runs into Edward Cullen, who happens to work for one of those publishers. Find out what happens. Rated T. AU. BxE. Fluffy One Shot


**A/N: **_Yet another Fluffy One Shot from me. This time Bella wants to become an author, she has published many short stories on the internet before and is now attempting to publish the book she wrote. She has sent her manuscript to many publishers but hasn't heard back from any until she meets the gorgeous Edward Cullen, who happens to be working at one of the publishers Bella had sent her story to. He helps her publish her book and obviously romance has to follow. Enjoy and let me know what you think! :)_

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The Author's Story**

"I looked into the eyes of my hero, then he moved his lips closer to mine until they touched and it was heaven. The End."

I had read and reread my story a thousand times already to see if I had caught all mistakes I could. I had only found two this time so I decided it had been enough. I was going to send the story to some publishers today and hopefully someone would like it and would want to publish it.

I had been writing many short stories and posted them online and I had always received wonderful reviews but this was the first time I had ever written an entire 200 pages long book. Writing had always been my passion but I had never thought I would ever write a book and try to publish it until my friends had convinced me to give it a shot and I must say I really liked the end result.

My book was a thriller and love story in one. The story line was pretty basic, girl gets in trouble, hot guy saves her and they fall in love. Obviously it is more complicated than that since it wouldn't be much of a book if that was the only thing about it. It contained a lot of action and psychological games as well as romantic scenes and I liked how it all came together in the end. I am a happy ending kind of person so obviously the hero and the victim have to fall in love in the end but other than that there was nothing basic about my story and I was very proud of it.

I wished my life would be more like a novel some times. I had never had feelings like the ones I describe in my book about anyone, my life was ordinary and boring. Sure I had great friends and I was a good student. But I was a klutz and my appearance was nothing special. I had been the talk of the town for a while when I moved to my dad's house in Forks and many guys had convinced themselves that they were in love with me but I had successfully convinced them that I wasn't interested and now they left me alone most of the time. But I never did anything exciting, I wasn't really good at anything athletic or anything else so that wasn't interesting. When I thought about my life like that it always made me a little sad. Luckily I had my imaginary world to escape to from time to time and that was exactly the reason I liked writing so much, it made me forget about my own boring existence for a while.

"Bella, are you coming?" Jacob pulled me out of my thoughts. He was waving his hands in front of my eyes to try and catch my attention. Jacob is my best friend in the whole world and he has been nothing but supportive about my writing. He had even read the very first version of the story and he had been extremely enthusiastic about it.

I smiled apologetically at him. "Yeah, right, sorry."

"If we want to get all these manuscripts sent to those publishers today we have to hurry!"

"Alright, I'm coming, just let me get my stuff and I'll be right there."

Not much later Jake and I were having coffee in our favorite café in Seattle.

"You're going to be so famous! I'm sure of it!" Jake exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Sure Jake, I would just like it if someone even took the time to look at my novel." I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm before refocusing on my coffee. Jake was always a bit too naïve if you ask me. He was a year younger than I was but still, he could be a bit childish for a nineteen year old boy, but that was part of his charm.

Jake and I had been friends since forever and I wouldn't know what I would do without him. He was there through every up and down I have ever had and I was there for his. We were inseparable from the moment I moved back to Forks to live with my father after my mother remarried and needed some alone time with her husband, Phil.

I had just graduated from Forks High and I had spent the entire summer writing my book. I had decided to take a break from school to focus on writing to see if that would work out. I had not been ready to go to college and move out of my dad's house just yet, I liked Forks and I wanted to attend college a year later so I could go together with Jacob, who would graduate this year.

After we had finished our cup of coffee, Jake and I were walking back towards the car, still chatting excitedly about the fact that I had just mailed a bunch of publishers, some more famous than others, my manuscript. That's when I first noticed him. A beyond beautiful male, I estimated him around the same age as I was, maybe a year older, was walking on the other side of the sidewalk, his bronze hair was ruffled by the wind and his eyes had a gorgeous golden color that I had never seen before and his skin was pale, more pale than would look healthy on anyone else, but it suited him. He was breathtaking. He noticed my stare and smiled at me. I quickly dropped my eyes to the floor, blushed a red that was so deep I must have looked ridiculous and quickly continued walking into the direction of my truck, towing Jake along as I went.

A few weeks later I had still not heard from any of the publishing offices I had sent my book to. I was a bit disappointed but I had expected this so I could handle it. Jacob still asked me about my book every day but there was nothing anything new to tell him.

That Tuesday I was wandering the streets of Seattle, going to my favorite bookstore to add to my seriously limited collection of books. I had read every book I owned around ten times already and I figured it was time for a change.

I spend many hours in the bookstore whenever I was there so the people working there knew me already.

"Good morning Bella, looking for anything special today?" Dominique, the girl behind the counter asked me. I was always happy when she was working because I liked her a lot. Whenever she was in the store I would stay until after closing hours just to chat and hang out. She had also been very enthusiastic and encouraging when I had told her about my book and she had read almost all of my short stories that I had posted on the web. She was a great support.

"Hi Dominique, no not today, just looking for some good books to add to my stash. Can you recommend anything?" I smiled at her.

"Well, there are some new romance novels, I know how much you like those so I took the liberty of keeping some in the back for you. You can take a look at them and tell me what you think."

"Thanks! I'll go look around a bit first and have a look at those books afterwards alright?"

"Sure, take your time!" Then she had to return to other costumers and I made my way to my favorite aisle.

I wasn't looking at where I was walking because I was skimming through all the titles of books on the shelves so I was very shocked when I suddenly bumped into what felt like a wall. When I looked up I noticed it wasn't a wall at all, it was the beautiful man I had seen a few weeks ago.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed ashamed.

"It's alright," he replied while smiling a crooked smile at me. "Hey, aren't you Isabella Swan?" he asked while he raised one of his eyebrows questioningly.

"Bella," I corrected him automatically, "how did you know that?"

"Well, you wrote a book right? The one you send to a bunch of publishing offices?" How did he know that? I just nodded in response, too baffled to give him an actual answer. "Right, well I work at one of those offices, I read your manuscript and I thought it was amazing! So I looked you up on the internet, hope you don't mind?" He actually looked ashamed when he said that. I just kept staring at him in surprise, unable to say anything or to move in any way. "And I read some of your short stories, they're really good. You're very talented! And when I saw your picture I recognized you immediately. I saw you a few weeks back around here as well, I'm good at remembering faces so I knew it was you when I saw your picture. Funny running into you again." He smiled at me and I lost my thoughts again.

What did he say again? Slowly my brain restarted and I was able to open my mouth for the first time since he had explained how he knew my name.

"You… you liked my story?" I was shocked.

"Yes, I thought it was very good! I wanted to get in touch with you right after I read it but I have been a bit occupied lately so I haven't had the chance to send you a reply yet. I'm sorry, but I would like to publish your story if you want to."

"That would be great!" I was surprised that this amazing creature had even taken the time to read my silly story and now he said he wanted to publish it, my head was swimming.

"Oh, this is very rude of me. I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Edward Cullen, my mother is Esme Cullen, she owns a publishing business here in Seattle, I started working there to help her out and I liked it so much that she made me an editor as well. Many people have some trouble with my age, since I'm only 21 years old and I still look very young even for 21 so they don't really trust that I'm any good. But I can assure you I have built quite a reputation by now and I'm very good at what I do." That explained a lot. I had indeed been right about his age, a year older than I am.

"Oh," was all I could manage.

"I'm very happy I bumped into you like this Bella, I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Thank you," I replied simply.

"Why don't we meet up for coffee somewhere this week so we can discuss the details?" He smiled another crooked smile and I blushed deeply.

"Alright," was my lame reply.

"Great, how about Thursday three o'clock?"

"Thursday sounds great," I said while smiling at him. I was taken aback by my own nonchalance.

"Thursday at three it is then. I have to meet another client right now so I'm afraid I have to leave you but I will see you soon." He named the place of a café in town and I was going to meet him there. He gave me his businesscard, which looked very professional and I remembered the company from the ones I had sent my manuscript to. After that he left and I was alone in the aisle again, staring at the books without really registering anything.

"Are you alright? Who was that guy?" Dominique's voice came from behind and pulled me out of my dumbfounded state.

"Er…" I muttered, "That was Edward Cullen apparently, he wants to publish my book." The idea still sounded unreal to me.

"Really? That's great! I'm so proud of you! We have to go celebrate after I'm done!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Sure!" I replied, not quite managing enthusiasm because of the state of shock I still seemed to be in.

"He's really hot by the way," she gushed.

"I know," I replied lamely. She was putting it very lightly.

A few months had passed since the day I had met Edward in the bookstore and things were going very well. Working with Edward on my book was a real pleasure and he had become a good friend. I had even met his mother, a lovely woman, very beautiful as well, and she had been very sweet to me. I had also met his sister, Alice, who had dropped by when Edward and I had been working on some details of my book in the office, we hit it off immediately and she is one of my best friends now.

I was doing the dishes when the doorbell rang. Charlie had gone fishing today, since it was weekend and the weather was considerably nice for Forks' standards. It was cloudy but at least it was dry and not too cold. I walked over to the door to answer it.

It was Edward, standing on the doorstep with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a book in the other. The smile on his face was breathtaking and my heart skipped a beat, as it did very often when I was near him. I knew he would never feel the same way I did but I couldn't deny my feelings for him were more than just friends, I was in love with him.

"I thought a celebration would be in order. Your book is finished and will hit the stores tomorrow. I brought you the very first copy, I must say it looks amazing, and I was hoping you would like to go out with me to celebrate your coming success." His beautiful voice and the crooked smile I liked so much sent a new wave of butterflies through my stomach and made my heart race.

"Wow," I choked out, "that's great! Let me get ready. Do you want to come in for a second?"

He followed me to the living room, where he sat down on my dad's favorite chair as he waited for me to get ready.

I changed as quickly as I could and when I was ready I walked back downstairs.

"Is Alice coming as well?" I asked tentatively.

"Well, I was actually hoping we could hang out with just the two of us? Like a date? But if you want I can call her?" He looked insecure.

"No," I said too quickly and he smiled.

"Alright then, let's go, you look wonderful!" He took my hand and we walked towards his car.

He took me to a restaurant. It was a beautiful place and they had the most amazing food I had ever tasted. To my surprise Edward had said he wasn't hungry and didn't eat anything the entire evening. Somehow there was always something off about him, I couldn't put my finger on it but I really wanted to find out.

"You're not like anyone else I've ever met," I noted while blushing feverishly.

"What do you mean?" His tone became suspicious. We had been joking up to now so the sudden change in mood must have surprised him.

"I don't know really, there's always something different about you. I can't put my finger on it exactly and I don't know why I'm telling you this so why don't we just forget I ever said anything and just enjoy the rest of the evening without my abnormal rambling," I said in a blur, I couldn't stop the words from coming out of my mouth and I felt like slapping myself after the sentence was finished. He must have thought I'm some sort of retard!

"You're right though, but I'll explain it later alright? Tonight isn't the right time." He smiled an angelic smile at me and I couldn't help but lose my train of thought.

The rest of the evening was indeed wonderful, it had been the best date I had ever been on and I didn't want the night to end.

"You know, you're truly my hero!" I told him embarrassed.

"Oh? And why is that?" he said while raising his perfect eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, if it wasn't for you I would have never been able to publish my book. It's truly a dream come true. So thank you!"

"You're very welcome, you're an amazing writer and I'm very glad I could help you publish your first book. I hope we get to work together on many more of your projects in the future as well." His golden eyes seemed to look straight into my soul, his velvet voice was sincere and the smile around his lips was breathtaking.

I couldn't help but smile back. I wanted to say something but I couldn't find words to express the feelings I had for him, I desperately wanted to tell him how much I adored him and that I had been in love with him from the start. I even wanted to confess that I had been fascinated with him when I first noticed him on the street so many weeks ago. But I couldn't describe it properly and I wasn't sure how he would feel afterwards. So I decided not to tell him, why would he like me anyways?

He didn't seem to have the same trouble because when he spoke again his voice was full of an emotion I had never witnessed before in anyone besides myself whenever I was around him. "You're a wonderful woman Bella, I can't help but feel attracted to you. I know it's wrong and I shouldn't want to be with you but I can't seem to help myself. I love you." He blurted the sentences out so fast I wasn't sure I caught it all but what I heard I couldn't believe.

I felt like I was finally in one of those novels I love so much. But it didn't make sense to me, why would he say these things? I didn't know what to say so I just stared at him, mouth slightly opened and eyes wide. Shocked.

"Bella?" he asked tentatively, troubled look on his face, "I'm sorry, that was out of line, you don't have to say anything if you don't feel the same way, I understand, it's alright. I shouldn't have said anything, I'm so, so sorry," he trailed off.

"Huh?" I managed brilliantly. Again a desire to slap myself on the forehead washed over me, why did I have to be so stupid around him?

"I'll just take you home alright?"

"No!" I all but yelled at him, he smiled a little in spite of the pain in his eyes. "I don't understand. You… love me?" I asked insecurely.

"Silly Bella, how could I not? After working so closely with you and noticing what a truly amazing creature you are, how could I not fall in love with you? You fascinate me. You never do what I expect you to do and usually I can read people so easily but you always take me by surprise. One of the reasons I loved working on your book with you is because I got to see into your mind a little every single day."

"Really?" I was still in a state of shock.

"Yes, really, I've been in love with you from the beginning and I tried to tell myself over and over how wrong it was but I can't fight it anymore."

"I love you too," I murmured softly.

The smile he gave me was amazing, it dazzled me and rendered me speechless. His face was glorious as he took my face between his hands and brushed his hard, cold lips against mine. I smelled his scent and it was amazing. I couldn't help but kiss him back, pulling myself closer to him every time he moved his lips against mine.

"I love you, Bella," he murmured in my ear while planting another kiss on my lips.

Then he pulled away and released all of me but my right hand and he started rubbing circles along the back of that hand, it left a burning trail even though his fingers were as cold as ice. He motioned for the waitress to come over and give us the check so we could leave.

When we walked out of the restaurant Edward put his arms around me and hugged me close to his chest. I had never felt better.

The drive back to my house we spent chatting happily. Every now and then Edward would stroke my cheek with his hand or plant a kiss on the top of my head while he put his arm around me and I placed my head on his shoulder.

Too soon we were back at my house and it was time to say goodnight. I reluctantly unbuckled my seatbelt and before I knew it Edward was at my door, ready to help me out of the car. He saw the expression on my face and he chuckled.

"I'll see you again tomorrow alright?" he promised.

"Okay," I said while still holding on to him, not ready to let him go just yet.

"Good night my beautiful Bella," he whispered into my ear. "Sweet dreams." He kissed the top of my head.

"Night," I replied with a pout on my face. He chuckled once more.

_I looked into the eyes of my hero, then he moved his lips closer to mine until they touched and it was heaven. The End. _

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**A/N: **_That was my final One Shot for now, the last thing I wrote on my ski trip. I'm sure I'll be back with more stories soon, but for now I'll continue working on my two longer stories, I do have to finish those someday as well :P Too bad I love writing One Shots so much that the longer stories tend to get put aside every now and then :P I hope you enjoyed my very fluffy One Shot, I'd like to know what you think so please review :P _

_BTW: I named the girl in the bookstore after a good friend of mine, _Nikie Bleeker_, who has been a very good support for me always as well! She's the best! :D _

_For those of you wondering which stories I was refering to, you can always check my profile, I try to keep it as up to date as I possibly can. _

_The first story is named **choosing** and is a story about Bella (obviously) who has a boyfriend, Jacob, and one day Edward Cullen arrives at Forks High. Bella and Edward become friends and soon she figures out she's in love with him (who wouldn't be right?:P). Then she has to choose between her boyfriend Jacob or the mysterious Edward. Who will she choose? AU. Rated T. Bella x Edward / Bella x Jacob. Expected end of January_

_The second story is named **reunion** and takes place two years after Edward leaves Bella in New Moon. Bella goes off to college but after a few days she finds that some old acquaintances are also attending the same college. What happens when Bella and Edward run into each other again? Will the spark still be there? Rated T. AU. Bella x Edward. Expected mid-February_

_Until next time!  
Xxx,  
Thari_


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